San Fruttuoso: Hidden Gem

Entering a small pirate cove straight out of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Jory and I marveled at the densely sheltered harbor of San Fruttuoso at the first stop on our tour of Riviera di Levante aboard a large boat piloted by Liguria Via Mare.

San Fruttuoso, located along the Italian Riviera east of Genoa, features a Benedictine abbey and is accessible only by foot from Camogli or Portofino, or by boat from Camogli or Punta Chiappa. The abbey is the final resting place of St. Fructuosus, a Roman Catholic bishop who was martyred in Spain in 259 A.D.

Rebuilt in the mid-13^th century by the Doria family, an old and extremely wealthy Genoese clan of Italian royalty and power brokers, the abbey now provides living quarters for local fishermen. Just offshore from the lagoon, a large bronze statue of Jesus Christ was lowered into the adjacent seabed in 1954 to bless the waters.

Divers and snorkelers can view the statue from below, or if the waters are calm, you can even see it by boat. One thing for sure about San Fruttuoso: it’s a popular spot with swimmers and sun worshipers alike (below), so you might want to plan your visit for the off-season.